Quote:
Originally Posted by Leanne
hmmmm I had a blood test a while ago and my Copper levels were super high....could this be from lampworking?
I just set up my midrange again in my garage and tried to torch the other night with the big huge double door open next to me. Well lets just say I am going to look at exhaust fans at the local hydroponics shop tomorrow. I felt awful. I was confused, my vision was a little blurry, my legs felt like the didn't work properly, I was tight in the chest and it felt like I was going to go to the toilet in my pants (don't worry I didn't!)....I get panic attacks so it is hard to tell how much was anxiety and how much was the fumes but it was soooooo scary and I don't ever want to feel like that again.
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Do you use copper inclusions in your beads? If so, that could contribute to your high levels, and possibly some of your symptoms. There has only been one other LE member I'm aware of who also specifically posted about having tested high for copper. After she had started feeling bad, she had herself tested for heavy metals and reported having surprisingly high copper levels. She then had her workstation tested - it sounded like she had a film of copper deposited everywhere. She said that she'd been working extensively with copper inclusions in her beads over a period of time. Given that copper 'fumes' in much the same way as gold or silver in the flame, I think she concluded that the copper that had been burning off in the flame as she worked deposited everywhere as it cooled, and that her ventilation had not been anywhere near good enough to protect her.
Copper, as you might know, is fairly easily absorbed and can become extremely toxic beyond a certain limit. If you are, indeed, using copper inclusions, you should have an absolutely superb ventilation system and probably take other precautions as well. If I remember right this other LE member posted that she had to stop working with copper in her beads and that it took her a long time to feel better.
Like copper, a number of other metals that are perfectly safe and innocuous at room temperature can become equally hazardous when heated in the torch, something which is so easy to forget, or perhaps not know. For example, the skeleton keys that are so popular as bases for gorgeous beads can come coated with zinc (another bad actor), nickel or be comprised of brass (of which copper is a significant constituent).
This has been a valuable thread, and I'm glad to see continued interest. Juliet started a great topic with how to check our health with respect to heavy metals. The natural question that goes along with it is how we come to be exposed to heavy metals in our lampworking, and whether some techniques carry an unusally high risk level.
Linda